 Energy & Environment |
Energy & Environment |
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Transportation Department finalizes fuel efficiency standards |
The Department of Transportation on Friday issued fuel economy standards, making cars in model years 2027 and later more efficient than cars today. |
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)'s final Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) rule follows the initial proposal, released last July, which the Biden administration presented as both more environmentally friendly and a benefit to consumers' pocketbooks. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg projected the final rules would increase fuel efficiency for passenger cars about 2 percent, also upping fuel economy about 2 percent for light trucks with model years 2029-2031. The average fuel economy for light-duty vehicles will increase to just over 50 miles per gallon by the beginning of the next decade and save car and light truck owners more than $600 in fuel costs over the life of the vehicle, according to the department. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group representing the car and light-truck industries, was broadly supportive of the final rule and said it alleviated some of their earlier concerns. President and CEO John Bozzella said the group had specifically been concerned last year about whether automakers would be considered in violation of CAFE rules if they complied with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules, which does not appear to be the case in the final rule. The EPA has issued a separate rule that is expected to shift new car sales significantly towards electric vehicles (EV). "Those fines wouldn't have produced any environmental benefits or additional fuel economy and would've foolishly diverted automaker capital away from the massive investments required by the electric vehicle transition. It looks like the left hand knew what the right hand was doing. That's the kind of coordination we recommended. So that's good and appreciated," he wrote. Read more in a full report at TheHill.com. |
Welcome to The Hill's Energy & Environment newsletter, we're Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains. |
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How policy will affect the energy and environment sectors now and in the future: |
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The U.S. International Trade Commission on Friday voted to continue with an investigation into potential tariff-dodging by manufacturers of photovoltaic solar cells in southeastern Asia, the latest in a years-long saga that the U.S. solar industry claims could devastate manufacturing. |
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| The vast majority of North America’s lakes endure the effects of wildfire smoke for more than 30 days annually, a new study has found. |
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A group of Republicans this week called on the Biden administration to ban imports from two Chinese companies that have ties to Ford and Volkswagen respectively, alleging that the battery companies also have ties to forced labor in China. |
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Branch out with a different read on The Hill: |
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Eleven people were transported to a hospital due to heat exhaustion in Phoenix Thursday while waiting in line for an event featuring former President Trump. |
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Upcoming news themes and events we're watching: |
Wednesday - The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee's Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining will hold a hearing to receive testimony on pending legislation.
- The House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology's Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight will hold a hearing titled "Environmentalism Off the Rails: How CARB will Cripple the National Rail Network"
- The House Committee on the Judiciary's Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust will hold a hearing titled "Climate Control: Decarbonization Collusion in Environmental Social and Governance ESG Investing"
Thursday - The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold an oversight hearing to examine the Bureau of Land Management. Bureau of Land Management director Tracy Stone-Manning is slated to testify.
- The House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security will hold a hearing titled "Securing Americas Critical Materials Supply Chains and Economic Leadership."
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News we've flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics: |
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Long-Range EVs Now Cost Less Than the Average New Car in the US (Bloomberg) The hottest place on Earth is cracking from the stress of extreme heat (Vox) What is 'nature-based carbon removal' and is it any better than carbon offsets? (The Verge)
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Two key stories on The Hill right now: |
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CNN's Abby Phillip and “Dr. Phil” McGraw disagreed over former President Trump's hush money trial on air Thursday evening, with the host eventually saying she doesn't understand how he came to his opinion. Read more |
| The latest financial disclosures of the Supreme Court justices were released Friday, revealing tidbits such as a justice's new rental property, hundreds of thousands of dollars in book royalties and even gifted concert tickets from Beyoncé. Read more |
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Op-ed related to energy & environment submitted to The Hill: |
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You're all caught up. See you Monday! |
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